I have a 2.5g tank in it is a dwarf frog, a male betta and, two snails. The betta and the snails are new additions to the tank.
The problem I'm having is the water is cloudy and I can't get it to stay clear.
I thought the problem was an old decoration that I had in there. It was a bit beaten up from lots of use so I threw it away.
But today my water is foggy again.
I just changed the water yesterday.
Anyone have any thoughts?
Thanks.

herefishy

01-22-2008 11:12 AM

Algae bloom, maybe. Or it could be a bacteria die-off, the tank balancing itself. You will need to get a test kit and measure the parameters of your water. The test kit should include tests for ammonia, nitrates, nitrites, and pH. These tests will give you enough information to be able to diagnose most problems you may incur with your tank.

new2fish

01-22-2008 09:04 PM

My test kit sucks

The only thing I can check with my kit is pH.
What kind of kits should I look for? I'm in Canada, our name brands are different than in the States.
The pet store is almost no help at all.

This is my problem. I'm new at keeping fish and I don't know ANYTHING.

I love having them, but I hate not knowing what I'm doing. Any and all advice or info. is welcome and needed.

Right now I have what I believe is a dwarf frog, a betta and, a pair of snails.
The tank is full of decorations, and things for them to swim around in and hide in and do what fishies do.

Could the cloudiness be snail eggs?

SST

01-22-2008 09:27 PM

No, the cloudiness is not snail eggs.

It's probably a bacterial bloom from introducing the new fish and snails to the tank.

How often do you change your tank's water? When's the last time you changed it? Maybe do small partial changes for the next few days while things settle down.

You want to get the liquid test kits that test for ammonia, nitrites, nitrates, and ph. They come individually and sold as a group, often called a "master test kit". It's much cheaper to buy it all together than to buy it individually.

Had your tank fully cycled before you added the new additions?

new2fish

01-26-2008 03:28 PM

Yes the tank had cycled before I put in the new additions. The frog has been in the tank for about a year now.
The cloudiness is gone now. I'm still thinking it had something to do with the damaged decoration. It was scratched from the gravel and, the marks were turning black when I noticed. I removed it right away.
Unfortunately I had to change almost all the water and clean the tank to get rid of all the fog.
It seems fine now, but nitrite has been on a slow and steady rise since. It's sitting at 0.1 right now.
My pH is high around 7.6, KH is 70-80, ammonia is 0.0.
Is there anything I can do to get rid of the nitrite?

SST

01-26-2008 04:33 PM

Partial water changes will bring the nitrites down. I'm glad your ammonia was 0. Sounds like your tank may be going through a mini-cycle with the additions. Did you test for nitrates? What was that reading?

new2fish

01-27-2008 11:46 AM

I don't know how to check for nitrates.
I don't know if I can with my kit.
I'm not very good with chemistry. I'm learning, but it's slow going.

JouteiMike

01-27-2008 11:58 AM

What kind of test kit are you using? Brand?
What does it state you can test for?
They all should come with easy to understand directions for each test.

new2fish

01-27-2008 04:02 PM

I'm using the Mini Master Test Kit, by Nutrafin.
It's liquid not the test strips, but I can't test Nitrate with it.
It's got tests for High/Low pH, KH, GH, Ammonia, and Nitrite.
I'm going to change about 30% of the water tonight.
I have AquaPlus tap water conditioner, and I have pH Stabilizer KH Booster, both by Nutrafin.
I think my pH and my KH are good for now though. pH was 7.4 and KH was 70-80 when I checked it this morning.
I have just a random question too. Is Nutrafin a good name? As far as products go?
I'm just wondering because it's the only brand name I can find.